The Story of Siena and San GimignanoGardner, Edmund G.
History
The Story of Siena and San Gimignano
Gardner, Edmund G.
Art -- Italy -- Siena; San Gimignano (Italy) -- History; Siena (Italy) -- History
In the sacristy there is an admirable bust, by Benedetto da Maiano, of
Onofrio di Pietro, the Operaio of the Collegiata under whose
superintendence the building was restored and the shrine of Santa Fina
constructed; he died in 1488. The marble ciborium is also by Benedetto.
A Madonna and Child with six Saints by Sebastiano Mainardi does not show
that painter at his best. Out of the left aisle opens the chapel of San
Giovanni, with a frescoed Annunciation of 1482, probably executed by
Mainardi from the design of Ghirlandaio, and an old baptismal font
(still used) made by Giovanni Cecchi of Siena in 1379 at the expense of
the Arte della Lana, with quaint bas-reliefs of the Baptism of Christ,
Angels and the _Agnus Dei_ of the Guild. This same Guild, together with
the Commune, had previously borne the cost of Bartolo di Fredi's
frescoes. There is a cloister attached to the Pieve with a few remains
of frescoes, one of which--a Pietà--is ascribed by Mr Berenson to Pier
Francesco Fiorentino.
At the side of the Collegiata is the Palazzo Comunale or Palazzo del
Popolo, which was begun in 1288. Its great tower, the Torre del Comune,
was begun in 1300 and finished about 1311, when the bell of the Commune
was placed there. The palace is sometimes called the new Palazzo del
Podestà, because after 1353 the Florentine Podestà resided here. The
steps lead up to the platform upon which the Podestà stood when he
presented his credentials and received the baton and keys from the
Gonfaloniere, and it was at its steps that the two Ardinghelli had been
beheaded in 1352. There is a picturesque court, with fragments of
frescoes and armorial bearings, and a well of 1360. To the right of the
court is what was once the Cappella delle Carceri. Opposite the door is
a fresco of the Madonna and Child enthroned, with St Geminianus and
another bishop, of the school of Taddeo di Bartolo. By Bazzi (hastily
executed and much repainted) are frescoes in chiaroscuro, representing
St Ivo, the just young judge, administering justice to the poor and
helpless, and, at the foot of the stairs, a magistrate seated between
Truth and Prudence, trampling upon the Lie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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